Turn Left at the Cow

The realistic fiction novel Turn Left at the Cow by Lisa Bullard is about a boy and his two friends that uncover a mystery of lost money that has remained hanging around his family since his father died. The main character is Travis, a thirteen year-old boy who has always been wondering about his dead-before-born dad. Trav is an average boy, not that smart, not that strong, not that talented. He isn’t into girls, or sports, although he can play video games. Most of the time he’s pretty shy, but when you get to know him, the mischievous daring lad comes out of hiding. The main problem is the entire bunch of cash that was stolen one night from a bank “supposedly” by Trav’s dad. Back in California Travis was feeling left out in his mom’s current life, with her new boyfriend, her new house, her new life- without Trav. When Travis decides to visit his grandma for a few weeks in a little town in Minnesota - the site of the crime, the family reunion becomes a blaming of wrong, a chase of the burglar, and a dangerous uncovering of the past. My opinion is that I love the danger and the thrill of the adventure in this book! I love how they finally uncover who is the real bad guy in a series of mysteries and twisting plots. I made me jump with a shock to find out who was behind all of it! One thing I would have changed is to hurry up the plot in the beginning. I was reading the book with no enthusiasm in the front, when at last the action started at ¾ of the story! But otherwise from that, I love the glamor and excitement that came with the romance, and the final push of the conflict that finished it all! -Serena

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